December 2018 MMA News Archive

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On Saturday, Amanda Nunes cemented her legacy as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and picked up a nice bonus to boot.
“The Lioness” was awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night award for her 51-second drubbing of the seemingly indomitable Cris Cyborg in the co-main event of UFC 232 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It was the first loss for Cyborg in her last 22 bouts dating back to Nov. 20, 2005 and her first-ever loss by knockout.

UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes shocked the world with an electrifying performance on Saturday night at UFC 232 at The Forum, needing just 51 seconds to knock out featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.
With the win, the American Top Team competitor by way of Salvador, Brazil, became the first simultaneous women’s two weight-class champion in UFC history. She also handed Cyborg her first defeat since 2005.

As much as anyone on the UFC roster, Walt Harris is eager to show off his hands.
That might sound obvious given his line of work, but few fighters can claim to have the recent boxing experience that Harris can. The 35-year-old has had the opportunity to train with both WBC champion Deontay Wilder, a fellow Alabama native, and Wilder’s recent foe, former WBA, WBO, and IBF champion Tyson Fury.

Chad Mendes knows what everyone is thinking.
A long layoff. Back-to-back bookings against lesser known opponents. His 10th anniversary as a pro fighter having just passed.
If Mendes’s next fight is any indication, he’s not being pushed to compete for a UFC title, something the 33-year-old has had the opportunity to do on three occasions. And it’s entirely possible Mendes is actually being used to prop up the résumé of Alexander Volkanovski, his opponent Saturday at UFC 232 in Inglewood, Calif., a featherweight prospect who has won all five of his fights inside the Octagon so far.

Today’s UFC 232 started the week with plenty of controversy.
The promotion’s year-end pay-per-view blockbuster had been set for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But when headliner Jon Jones had a drug test result that was abnormal, it left the Nevada State Athletic Commission in position to not be able to license him to fight – so the entire event moved to California.
Now UFC 232 takes place tonight at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

UFC 232 is happening tonight in California instead of Nevada as originally booked. And while UFC President Dana White admits it’s “not the ideal situation,” he couldn’t care less about the backlash all week that’s been caused by his last-minuted decision.
“When I pull the trigger, man, we roll,” White told MMAjunkie on Friday. “I don’t ever go, ‘We made the wrong decision.’ I don’t listen to criticism. Other people’s opinions mean nothing to me. I make decisions, and we roll. That’s it.”

Out of all the talk of picograms, long-term metabolites and adverse findings, there was one pivotal thing that determined whether or not Jon Jones would fight this weekend.
California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster told MMA Fighting that, after reviewing multiple statements from scientists and experts, there was something that stood out above all the rest, swaying his choice to allow Jones to fight Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 232 on Saturday in Inglewood, Calif.

Herb Dean is out as referee of the UFC 232 light heavyweight title main event between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson due to injury, California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster informed MMA Fighting on Wednesday.
Veteran referee Mike Beltran will replace Dean as the third man in the cage.

Dana White never has shied away from being critical of Jon Jones, one of the most dominant champions in UFC history.
But according to White, Jones also is one of the biggest problem fighters in the company’s history. So when he found himself in the center of another controversial move today, White made the rare move of defending him.

A Jon Jones drug testing abnormality has caused the UFC to move Saturday’s UFC 232 event from Las Vegas to Southern California.
A drug test earlier this month found a trace amount of Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (DHCMT), or turinabol, in Jones’ system. That’s the same substance Jones tested positive for in 2017 that led to the 15-month suspension he recently was cleared from in order to fight this week.

Karim Zidan delves into the recent merger between Chechen promotions ACB and Akhmat MMA.
Several weeks ago, Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced that his MMA promotion, World Fighting Championships of Akhmat (WFCA), would merge with fellow Chechen promotion Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB) in the coming months. According to the dictator, the goal behind the amalgamation is to secure a larger percentage of the sport’s global market share.

A bantamweight matchup with a pair of fighters with a penchant for stopping fights has been added to next month’s UFC on ESPN+ 1 event.
MMAjunkie today confirmed with a person with knowledge of the booking that John Lineker (31-8 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Cory Sandhagen (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) have agreed to meet at the event, which takes place Jan. 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The event streams on ESPN+.

Thiago Santos’ journey up the light heavyweight ladder will continue in early 2019.
A matchup between Santos and fourth-ranked light heavyweight contender Jan Blachowicz has been scheduled for Feb. 23 as the main event of the UFC’s inaugural visit to Prague, Czech Republic. The promotion announced the booking Friday afternoon.

The Bellator 217 lineup is starting to take shape, with six bouts today officially added to the previously announced main event of James Gallagher vs. Steven Graham.
Included in the new main card contests is an all-Irish co-main event of Myles Price (10-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Peter Queally (11-4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who meet in a lightweight matchup, as well as light heavyweights Yannick Bahati (8-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Karl Moore (8-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Former bantamweight champion Holly Holm returns to the Octagon at UFC 235, where she will face fast-rising star Aspen Ladd.
Though UFC 235, which takes place on March 2 in Las Vegas, is currently without a headliner, the fight card is filling up fast with UFC officials announcing Holm vs. Ladd on Friday.
Holm (12-4) has lost both her forays at featherweight, but is one of the most accomplished fighters in the UFC women’s bantamweight division. With a record of 5-2 when fighting at 135 pounds, Holm was the first woman to defeat Ronda Rousey, claiming UFC gold in the process.

It will be an all-Welsh affair when Jack Marshman takes on John Phillips.
Officials announced Wednesday that the two middleweights will fight at the upcoming March 16 UFC card set to take place at The O2 Arena in London. This will be the first time in UFC history that two fighters from Wales have competed against one another inside the Octagon.

The card for Bellator MMA’s inaugural European Series event in Newcastle, England, is just about complete.
In addition to a previously confirmed headliner pitting Patricky Freire against Ryan Scope as well as the sophomore outing for British reality television star Aaron Chalmers, the California-based promotion announced 11 bouts for the Feb. 9 event, which takes place at Metro Radio Arena.
The four-bout main card will include the Bellator debut of Fabian Edwards, the brother of UFC welterweight Leon Edwards, as he faces Lee Chadwick in a middleweight tilt. Additionally, Terry Brazier will square off against Chris Bungard in a lightweight affair. Chalmers’ opponent has yet to be announced.

The UFC has added a marquee featherweight matchup between former champion Jose Aldo and Renato Moicano to its UFC Fight Night on Feb. 2 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Officials confirmed the 145-pound contest on Friday, following an initial report by MMAJunkie. UFC Fight Night will take place at CFO Arena and air on ESPN+.
Aldo (27-4) is coming off a knockout win against Jeremy Stephens in July. It was the Brazilian's first victory since he outpointed Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 in July 2016.